Week 5, 2024
Work:
In the office two days this week - Monday and Wednesday. Monday was fun - a few of us around, working hard and having a bit of a laugh with each other at the same time. Wednesday is always the busiest day in the office, but this week it was next-level busy - I think a combination of CEO update, everyone wanting to wish someone farewell on their last day, and the evening event we were running. Everyone was good-humoured about it and made it work (because they’re cracking humans), but it’s quite a small space so the background noise, and the distraction from the (literally) toppling coat-racks and the musical chairs, made it hard to be on calls and facilitate the remote workshops I had to run. Reflection: our org has more than twice as many people as desks (not including network members) - so if I’ve a remote workshop in the diary, I need to not host it from our office if it’s a predictably busy-office day.
I’ve been loving a couple of the engagements I’m working on. One engagement is a dream set-up when it comes to coaching leadership teams - because they’ve welcomed us in to help them work better as a team, in contrast to a request for “stealth” coaching for someone, or teams having coaching imposed upon them. Another engagement is with an incredibly organised and efficient programme leadership team who week after week have been consistently making things quick and easy (well, the things that don’t involve working with SAP, they’re not magic). Reflection: the circumstances of how, why, when, and by whom you’re engaged are not only constraints on how effective an engagement can be but also how enjoyable and rewarding. And I have a strong preference for WYSIWYG, even if I have a talent for handling dark matter contexts.
I hosted and spoke at a panel event on Inclusive Services with Connie Van Zanten, Piali Das Gupta, Alistair Duggan and Julian Thompson. I had the privilege of designing the session and was able to weave their three distinct lenses on inclusion into something that felt coherent and compelling. Learning how to design and run an event was one thing I’d said explicitly that I wanted to learn as part of this job - so getting the chance to collaborate with Christine Draper on this was invaluable. Reflection: I’m good at collaborating and curating and storytelling - and really ought to do more of it. I’m also very good at thinking on my feet. I knew this, but it’s nice to remind myself.
Fun:
I did some stand-up comedy yesterday. A day-long workshop ending with actually doing the short set I’d designed. It is run by a marvellous organisation called Funny Women which organises more than 100 events every year. It was set up more than 20 years ago to disrupt the (still) male-dominated industry and to act as a talent pipeline for women in comedy - and has had some real success (just look at this list of household names who’ve benefitted from their platform: https://funnywomen.com/awards/lists/halloffame). Alas it is also a non-profit that struggled hugely during COVID and is trying to get back on its feet after some cash-strapped sponsors pulled out last year - and this year’s awards won’t go ahead unless they can find sponsorship or raise the money other ways. If you can I’d highly recommend attending one of the workshops - I went because I want to be funnier and connect more with my audiences when public speaking - folks always remember how you made them feel, right? But if you can’t, do consider donating a little and accessing some great content through their patreon https://www.patreon.com/funnywomen/membership. Reflection: there are lots of non-profits out there that might feel like they’re permanent features of the cultural landscape but are so, so vulnerable financially and if lost we’ll struggle to get them back. What can we do to bolster their resilience?
I also saw some comedy - Priya Hall at the Soho Theatre, in her show Grandmother’s Daughter. She’s a Welsh-Indian woman who ended a long relationship with a bloke when she fell in love with a “tiny little lesbian with toxic masculinity” - and she was absolutely hilarious. Coming from a small coal-mining village in South West Scotland, I can totally relate to the experience she shared of growing up in Wales. Reflection: I want to see more live comedy. More comedy, period. And I want to try and tell some of my own stories. I might find some of them a bit depressing - but that’s the beauty of comedy, you need the dark to appreciate the light. It could really work. Growing up I was always a big of a wise-ass. I’d say part-Stephen Fry, part-Chandler Bing. I used to love a dry, sarcastic quip. But as I’ve aged I’ve realised it isn’t especially kind. I don’t care about nice, but I do care about kind. I don’t like comedy that makes some people feel good by making others feel bad. And so I stopped - and started taking everything (waaaay too) seriously. My 2024 resolution to prioritise connection - and my stand-up workshop this week reminded me how much I like to make people laugh. I still love clever jokes - a good wordplay one-liner, or a story that takes you on an ambiguity-filled journey and dumps you somewhere hilariously unexpected. I just don’t like jokes that make me (or someone else) look clever at your expense. So I think I’m on a journey to develop my own comedy style. Reflection: The opposite of mean isn’t humourless - kind can be funny too.
Art class. I promised you a photo (see below). I’m really enjoying it. Mixed media next. Reflection: without fail, every Tuesday at 6pm I struggle to persuade myself to leave the house - and every Tuesday by 8pm I’m very pleased I did. When will it be less of a battle with myself? I also tried to join a gym, twice - payment rejected. I want to get back into swimming as I’d like to be doing open water swimming by the end of the year if I can build my swimming strength enough. But if I’m still struggling to persuade myself to go to art class, what hope do I have with the gym?
I finished watching Percy Jackson on Disney+ with the youngest. I’m sad because I was enjoying it and could happily watch a dozen more demi-god adventures, and also because it was a reason to snuggle up with Zoe once a week. I’m going to need to find the next “family” show we’ll both enjoy. She’s thinking Queer Eye (sure) - but I quite like action-adventure so any recommendations?
Less fun:
Mum has a cold and chesty cough that isn’t shifting. Clearly everyone is concerned about the risk of pneumonia given how vulnerable her health is.
The junior school has decided to shift the start and end to the school day forward by 15 minutes. Making the dash between the 12yo drop-off at the school bus and the 10yo drop off at school - just about manageable now - impossible. So figuring that out before it kicks in is going to be…interesting.
Alt-text, because I’m writing this on my iPad and the option didn’t come up for some reason. This is a watercolour painting of a tropical fish - blues, pinks, oranges, yellows, on a slightly paint-splattered background.